What type of rock is Shiprock made of?

Ship rock is composed of fractured volcanic breccia and black dykes of igneous rock called minette, a type of lamprophyre. It is the erosional remnant of the throat of a volcano, and the volcanic breccia formed in a diatreme.

Is Shiprock intrusive or extrusive?

Ship stones are thought to represent the interior of a maar-type (steam blast) near the surface. It is an intrusive rock called a volcanic neck.

How do I get Shiprock?

To reach the base of Shiprock for a self-guided tour and up-close views, turn west from Hwy. 491 along Red Valley Road / Route 5, south of the formation. Route 5 actually passes through the south dike and offers great views and connects with several dirt roads that will take you to the base of Shiprock Peak.

Is Shiprock a lava dome?

In the northwest corner of New Mexico, a jagged dome of dark volcanic rock rises from the dusty plateau like the sails of a ship toward the horizon. The formation is bounded to the west by Shiprock Wash. Beyond is the Bureau of Indian Affairs Road 5020.

Who has climbed Ship Rock?

David Brower
Bestor RobinsonJohn DyerRaffi Bedayn
Ship Rock/First ascenders

Can you see Ship Rock from the highway?

Can we see it from a distance from the nearest paved road? Yes you can. You need to go south on 491 from the town of Shiprock. Turn west on Route 13 at about mile marker 85.

What kind of rock is Shiprock New Mexico?

Shiprock, New Mexico The 1,700-foot eroded volcanic plume most commonly known today as Shiprock is sacred to the Navaho as Tse Bi dahi, or Winged Rock.

What makes up the neck of Ship Rock?

The neck is composed of fractured volcanic rock, or breccia, intersected by many thin lava veins. Ship Rock is composed of an unusual, high-potassium magma composition called a "minette" that is thought to form by very small degrees of melting of the Earth's mantle.

Shiprock, New Mexico. Known today most commonly by the name Shiprock, the 1,700-foot eroded volcanic plume is sacred to the Navaho as Tse Bi dahi, or the Winged Rock.

Shiprock is in the northeastern part of the Navajo Volcanic Field – a field that includes intrusions and flows of mines and other unusual igneous rocks that formed about 30 million years ago. Agathla (El Capitan) in Monument Valley is another prominent volcanic neck in this volcanic field. Map of Navajo Volcanic Field with Shiprock